Support



I Nov. 1, 1938. J. J. TAYLOR 2,135,361

SUPPORT Filed Aug. 13, 1936 INVENTOR ATTOR N EY Patented Nov. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Ohio Brass Company poration of New Jersey Mansfield, Ohio, acor- Application Augnst I3, 1936, Serial No. 95,759

7 Claims.

, derstood that the invention is applicable to other devices than that illustrated.

One object of the invention is to provide a support for a load which will maintain the load normally in stable equilibrium but will permit rotation of the load under abnormal conditions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a support for an arcing horn which will maintain the horn in spaced relation to the transmission line conductor during normal operation but Will permit tilting of the horn to prevent excessive stress on the support in case the conductor is broken at one side of the support.

A further object of the inventionis to provide a device of the class named which shall be of improved construction and operation.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description.

The invention is exemplified by the combina tion and arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawing and described in the following specification, and it is more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a support andthe arcing horn carried thereby.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section substantially on line 1-4 of Fig. l a part of the link l4 being shown in elevation and one leg of said link being broken away.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the support'and attached parts in the position it occupies when subjected to abnormal stress, due to'a broken cable.

As shown in the drawing, the conductor 10 is supported by a string of insulators H from which the conductor is suspended by a saddle or clamp l2 and a pair of links i3 and H. The upper end of the link I4 is provided with a socket l5 which fits a ball [6 on the end of the pin ll of the lowermost insulator II. The ball I6 is secured in the socket l5 by a cotter pin ill in a manner well known in the art. An arcing horn 20 is formed of a continuous loop of pipe which is flattened at opposite portions, as shown at 2|, the flattened portions being brought close together for attachment to the supporting link M by a pair of pivot bolts 22 and 23. This arrangement provides oppositely extending loops overlying the conductor at each side of the suspension string.

It sometimes happens, in the operation of a transmission line, that a conductor will break at one side of a supporting insulator string while it remains intact at the other side of the string. When this occurs, the string will be swung in the direction of the unbroken conductor, as shown in Fig. 5. The conductor is usually a fairly stiff rod and is sometimes reinforced adjacent the supporting insulator by an armor of smaller rods secured about the conductor to minimize the effect of vibration in the conductor. The protruding end of the broken conductor under these conditions will assume a direction close to the axis of the insulator string. The abnormal position of the conductor will bring it into contact with the end of the arcing horn 2i] and bend the end of the horn toward the insulator string, as

illustrated in Fig. 5. If the horn is rigidly fixed to the link supporting it from the string, the link will be bent out of its normal position and since the ball" i6 has a very limited angular movement in its socket l5, there is a tendency to place undue stress upon the link-and its ball and socket connection with the insulator. This, in some cases, may result in damage to the ball and socket connection or the insulator itself and may even cause a broken connection, resulting in dropping the line.

The diihculty might be overcome by providing a pivotal support for the horn 20 on the link H but this would result in an unstable support for the horn, and any unbalance of the horn would permit one end to drop down upon the cable and not only destroy the usefulness of the horn but produce other damage. In order to provide a stable support for the horn under normal conditions and also to permit of sufiicient pivotal movement to avoid undue stress in the supporting structure when a cable breaks, the present invention has been devised.

As will be seen more clearly from Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing. the link I4 is provided with two legs, one at each side of the link l3, and each of these legs is provided with an eye 24 which may be roughly described as being of an. inverted heart shape. At the opposite lower corners of the eye are bearing seats 25 and 26 for the bolts 22 and 23 respectively which extend through openings in the flattened sides 2i of the horn 20. By this arrangement it will be seen that the horn 20 is supported on a pair of spaced pivots with the center of gravity of the horn in a vertical line passing between the pivots. The sides of the eyes 24- are so shaped that the horn may be swung about the axis of either of its supporting bolts 22. or the eye providing clearance for the movement of the other bolt. The horn will be normally supported in stable equilibrium due to the moment exerted by the weight of the load, tending to prevent turning about either of the pivotal supports; but when an abnormal force is exerted on the horn suihcient to overcome the turning moment produced by gravity, the horn will be free to swing in either direction about one or the other of the pivots '22 and 23.

The link l3 which supports the conductor through the medium of the clamp i2 is also provided with a. heart shaped eye 2'! similar to the eye but reversed in position, providing pivot seats 28 and 29 which rest upon the bolts 22 and respectively. By this arrangement the weight the supporting cable 10 also exerts moment on the bolts 22 and 23, tending to hold the horn in normal position.

When the cable breaks, as shown in Fig. 5, the tension exerted by the cable Iii tends to hold the i i3 and i in close contact with the pivot ts E2 and 23 so that any tilting moment exerted on the horn by contact with the cable must overcome the moment exerted upon the bolts by the two links and [4.

The lever arms of the force exerted by the links ii; 2:. d very short as compared to the lever arm of the force exerted by the cable in at the oi the horn 2%; so that the horn is tilted as shown in 5, separating the seats at opposite sides of each of the bolts 22 and 23. The tension on the cable, however, exerts a continuous force on the bolts 22 and 23, holding the horn in engagement with the cable, thus preventing vibration and hammering. The resistance to pivotal movement exerted by the bolts 22 and 23 is not sufficient, however, to place undue stress on the supporting link M and its ball and socket connection with the insulator string so that all displacement of the horn is accommodated by the pivotal movement provided by the spaced pivotal bolts 22 and 23 and danger of distortion of the other parts is avoided.

I claim:

In combination a member having a pair of spaced pivots thereon, a pair of links each separate from said member and each having spaced seats engaging said pivots, the seats in one of said links engagingopposite sides of said pivots from the seats in the other link, means for exerting tension on said links to hold said member in a predetermined position relative to said links, said member being movable about the axis of either of said pivots when subject to force sufiicient to overcome the moment about said axis exerted by the tension on said links, each pivot moving away from one of its engaging seats when said member is rotated about either pivot.

2. A support for an arcing horn comprising an insulator, horizontally spaced pivots on said horn, spaced seats for said pivots carried by said insulator, a weight acting on said horn and having its resultant extending between said pivots to maintain said horn in stable equilibrium, said horn being movable about the axis of either of said pivots when subjected to a sufficient abnormal force acting about said axis.

3. A support for a load comprising a pair of links each having seats spaced apart transversely to the direction of the load on said links and also transversely to the direction of the pivotal axes of said seats, a pair of transversely spaced pivots engaging said seats each pivot engaging one seat in each link and providing a common pintle on which said seats are journaled, and a member fixed to said pivots and normally held in predetermined relation to said links by the force on said links.

4. A support for a conductor comprising a pair f links each having a pair of pivotal seats spaced apart in a direction transverse to the pivotal axes of said seats, a pair of transversely spaced pivots engaging said seats and holding said links against the weight of said conductor, and an arcing horn secured to said pivots and normally held in fixed position. relative to said conductor by said pivots.

5. A support for a conductor comprising an insulator string, a link secured to said string and having horizontally spaced pivotal seats therein, a. pair of pivots mounted respectively in said seats, and an arcing horn carried by said pivots and rigidly connecting said pivots together.

6. A support for a conductor comprising an insulator string, a link suspended by said string, said link having a pair of spaced pivotal seats therein, a pair of pivots mounted in said seats, an arcing horn secured to said pivots, a second link having a pair of spaced seats resting on said pivots, and means for supporting said conductor from said second link.

'7. A support for a conductor comprising an insulator string, a link suspended from said string, said link having an opening therein provided with horizontally spaced pivotal seats, a pair of pivots resting in said seats, an arcing horn secured to said pivots and holding said pivots in fixed relation to each other, said horn being rotatable about the axis of either of said pivots, said opening providing clearance for the other pivot therein when said horn is so rotated, a sec ond link having a. pair of horizontally spaced seats resting on said pivots, said second link being rotatable about either of said pivots and having an opening therein providing clearance for the other pivot when said link is so rotated, and means for suspending said conductor from said second link.

JOHN J. TAYLOR. 

